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Lonzo Ball’s father blames 3 ‘white guys’ for UCLA loss

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published 12:30 p.m. ET April 7, 2017

FILE - In this March 4, 2017, file photo, UCLA guard Lonzo Ball, right, shakes hands with his father LaVar following an NCAA college basketball game against Washington State in Los Angeles. UCLA won 77-68. LaVar Ball told Southern California News Group for a story published online on April 6, 2017, that UCLA was eliminated in the NCAA tournament because “three white guys” couldn’t pick up the slack after his son suffered a hamstring injury.(Photo: Mark J. Terrill, AP)

LOS ANGELES — The father of UCLA star Lonzo Ball says the Bruins lost in the NCAA Tournament because “three white guys” couldn’t pick up the slack after his son injured his hamstring.

LaVar Ball tells Southern California News Group (http://bit.ly/2nLy5DG ) that “realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow.” The comment appears to be a reference to UCLA starters T.J. Leaf, Bryce Alford and Thomas Welsh.

Ball says his son “popped his hamstring” during the loss to Kentucky in the round of 16. Lonzo Ball never mentioned the injury publicly, but his father says “he’s never going to make excuses.”